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Team Sonic Racing
| released = Q4 2018 }} Team Sonic Racing is an upcoming kart racing video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is being developed by Sumo Digital and Vicarious Visions and will be published by Sega, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Activision for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows in late 2018. Gameplay Team Sonic Racing is a kart racing video game featuring single-player and multiplayer modes. The player selects one of 15 characters from [[List of Sonic the Hedgehog characters|the cast of the Sonic the Hedgehog series]] to control and participate in races using sports cars on courses thematically based on locations from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. There are three types of racing classes: speed, technique, and power. Each has their own unique abilities; for example, technique racers can drive over surfaces like grass without slowing down. Gameplay is viewed from a third-person perspective and the player runs over panels to get speed boosts, performs tricks in midair, and drifts to make sharp turns. Power-ups based on the Wisps can be collected from canisters with "?" marks, granting players temporary offensive and defensive advantages. The game differs from traditional kart racers in that it focuses on team-based gameplay: the player is part of a team of racers and they must work together. Instead of simply winning races by finishing them fastest, teams get points based on how they worked together; thus, the most efficient team wins. Four teams of three compete, for a total of 12 racers at a time. Outside of the standard Grand Prix, Time Attack, Exhibition modes, the game will also feature a "Team Adventure" mode. Vehicles will have customization options as well. The game supports four-player local multiplayer and 12-player online. Development Team Sonic Racing is being developed by Sumo Digital and Vicarious Visions for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It will be the Sumo Digital's third racing game featuring the Sonic intellectual property (IP), following Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (2010) and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012). The majority of the staff, however, did not work on the previous games. Unlike the Sonic & Sega All-Stars games, which featured various Sega, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Activision franchises, Team Sonic Racing will solely focus on Sonic characters and elements. Sega's community manager Aaron Webber said that Team Sonic Racing is not a sequel to Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed and is "very, very different" from previous Sonic racers. Series producer Takashi Iizuka explained that the team wanted to make a game that took place solely in the Sonic universe, which is why it does not bear the Sega All-Stars name. Webber added that they also wanted to expand the world and character roster of Sonic. According to lead designer Richard Acherki, the game is being programmed using a modified version of the in-house game engine used to develop the Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing games. Sumo Digital wanted to create a racing game that stood out compared to others. Observing other games, they found that team gameplay was very popular; noting that racing games were largely single-player experiences, they decided to combine the concepts to create a unique and exciting experience. Iizuka echoed these sentiments, saying the development team was not inspired by other kart racing games like Mario Kart 8 (2014) because they wanted to make a game that emphasized teamwork instead of a "a network game". He cited Splatoon (2015) and Overwatch (2016) as examples of the teamwork that Team Sonic Racing was striving for. The game does not support cross-platform multiplayer; Iizuka stated this is because of technical constraints. The soundtrack will be composed by Trevor Rabin, his first major work in the Sonic series since Sonic Generations. Also the soundtrack was also co-composed by Christopher Young. The game's theme song, "Green Light Ride", was performed by Senoue's band Crush 40. Promotion and release Rumors of a new Sonic-themed racing game arose in January 2018 when an internal Sumo Digital memo leaked, containing information on an "unannounced karting game" for an "established global IP". Their history with Sonic caused speculation that they were developing a new entry in the Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing series. This was rejected by Webber, who stated he "saw rumors floating today about another SART game. Just wanted to confirm it's not a thing!" Despite his response, multiple toy production companies alluded to a future Sonic kart racing game in February 2018. In early February, a representative from Zappies reported at the Spielwarenmesse toy fair in Nuremberg that a third Sonic kart racing game was in development and that the company was planning on making toy figures for the game. Similarly, later in the month, a separate toy company, Diamond Select Toys, also alluded to 2018 toys based on a Sonic racing video game entry. Multiple journalists noted that Webber's comments may have just alluded to the Sega All-Stars name and that he did not discount the premise of a new Sonic racing game, and further rumors of a game without any other Sega IPs involved arose in the same month. A Sonic related announcement was scheduled for March 16, 2018 at the South by Southwest convention. The game was not announced at that time, but a trailer on the Sonic Twitter account teased a new racing game on that same day. In May 2018, after leaking in a Walmart retail listing, Sega announced Team Sonic Racing would release for the Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in the fourth quarter of 2018. A demo version was playable at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2018. Reception Eurogamer's Martin Robinson expressed disappointment that Team Sonic Racing did not include any non-''Sonic'' characters as playable racers, which he believed was one of the best things about Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing and its sequel. However, he remained optimistic, believing Sumo Digital's experience with Sonic would ensure the game would be a similar, "fundamentally brilliant arcade racer". At E3 2018, Hardcore Gamer nominated it as the show's best racing game, but it lost to Forza Horizon 4. Notes #Characters confirmed to be playable are Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, E-123 Omega, Big the Cat, Chao, and Amy Rose. References External links * Category:Upcoming video games scheduled for 2018 Category:Sega video games Category:Sumo Digital games Category:Nintendo Switch games Category:Windows games Category:PlayStation 4 games Category:Xbox One games Category:Racing video games Category:Video games developed in the United Kingdom Category:Film scores by Christopher Young Category:Film scores by Trevor Rabin Category:Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment games Category:Activision games Category:Vicarious Visions games